If you've painted a room recently, or ever, you've probably got a stack of paint chips lying around. You already know you like the colors, so instead of throwing the chips away, why not do something creative with them? We love this idea from Allison Patrick, who uses strips of paint chips that are almost unrecognizable to create art — that definitely matches the walls!

"When I paint a new room, I spend a lot of time picking just the right paint color... While this process is beneficial for the room, it leaves me with lots of paint chips. Smart people might throw them out, but because I'm a bit of a hoarder, I have stacks of chips at the ready. I've always had this sense that one day I would find a use for all these carefully saved supplies. Finally I found one! And because each stack of paint chips comes from a specific room, once I've created my art pieces, I know they'll complement the walls perfectly."

If you don't have any paint chips lying around but like this idea, you could check with your local designer's library to see if they have any old or unused paint chips. Otherwise, Allison's goods area also for sale on Etsy, and be sure to check out her other fun creative reuse ideas on her blog, Reduce, Reuse, Redcorate.